The John James Newsletter 65
4 July 2015 – Souppes–sur-Loing
Temperatures in France have pipped 40C over past two days.
Records broken as heatwave hits US northwest:
Both India and Pakistan have had heatwaves this year, Western Europe is developing one and North America is enduring one, in its northwest. The precise definition differs from country to country but the effects are the same.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/records-broken-heatwave-hits-northwest-150629104554904.html
Massive Siberian heatwave next week
Global warming is strengthening heatwaves. The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world, so the temperature difference between the North Pole and the Equator is getting smaller. It is this temperature difference that powers the jet stream. The result is that the speed is falling. And the path is meandering.
http://arctic-news.blogspot.fr/2015/07/east-siberian-heat-wave.html
‘Holy Grail’ of Leaks Reveals Detailed Plot for Corporate Takeover
Fifty-two-nation Trade in Services Agreement uses trade regulations ‘as a smokescreen to limit citizen rights, The leak provides further evidence of how “a self-selected group of mainly rich countries” plans to “bypass other governments in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and rewrite its services agreement in the interests of their corporations,
Trade in Services Agreement – Wikileaks Press release
While the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Pact (TTIP) have become well known in recent months, the TiSA is the largest component of the US strategic neoliberal ‘trade treaty triumvirate. Together, the three treaties form not only a new legal order shaped for transnational corporations, but a new economic enclosure that excludes China, Russia and all other BRICS countries.
https://wikileaks.org/tisa/press.html
TiSA – Trade in Services Agreement – Core Text
https://wikileaks.org/tisa/core/#a
In case you are confused about what is going on in the Middle-East?
We support the Iraqi government in its fight against IS. We don’t like IS but IS is supported by Saudi Arabia whom we do like. We don’t like President Assad in Syria. We support the fight against him, but not IS, which is also fighting against him.
We don’t like Iran, but the Iranian government supports the Iraqi gov’t against IS. So, some of our friends support our enemies and some of our enemies are our friends, and some of our enemies are fighting our other enemies, whom we don’t want to lose, but we don’t want our enemies who are fighting our enemies to win.
If the people we want to defeat are defeated, they might be replaced by people we like even less. And, all this was started by us invading a country to drive out terrorists who weren’t actually there until we went in to drive them out – do you understand now?
http://www.newstalk.com/In-case-you-are-confused-about-what-is-happening-in-the-Middle-East
Dutch court orders government to cut carbon emissions in landmark ruling
Dutch court orders state to reduce emissions by 25% within five years to protect its citizens from climate change in world’s first climate liability suit
Washington State Youth Win Unprecedented Decision in their Climate Change Lawsuit
Successful petition by eight youths on C02 reductions. For the first time in the US, a court of law has ordered a state agency to consider the best available climate science when deciding to regulate C02 emissions,”
James Hansen summary
http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2015/20150626.LegalFront.pdf
Invited by Vatican, Naomi Klein Makes Moral Case for World Beyond Fossil Fuels
Activist and author praises ‘courageous’ invitation by Pope in face of fossil fuel industry’s power”In a world where profit is consistently put before both people and the planet, climate economics has everything to do with ethics and morality.”
Over 300 wildfires are burning in Alaska right now.
That’s a bigger problem than it sounds as fires in the Arctic affect the permafrost whose total carbon content would be double what’s currently in the atmosphere.
http://www.wunderground.com/wundermap/
Adani mega-coal mine proposal an ‘economic basket case’: Qld Treasury
Documents reveal that the Queensland Treasury expressed serious concern about public money being spent when no due diligence had been conducted by the then Newman government. Adani’s coal holdings in the Galilee had already become a stranded asset,” and now, with the Indian Group’s recent corporate restructure, it has effectively become “collateral damage”.
Poverty, Drugs, Afghanistan, Iraq, Terror, or How to Make War on Everything
War on drugs. War on poverty. War in Afghanistan. War in Iraq. War on terror. The biggest mistake in American policy, foreign and domestic, is looking at everything as war. When a war mentality takes over, it chooses the weapons and tactics for you. It limits the terms of debate before you even begin. It answers questions before they’re even asked.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article42270.htm
Half of Europe’s electricity set to be from renewables by 2030
Leaked EU paper predicts fast renewables growth to around double current levels if countries meet climate objectives
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/26/half-europes-electricity-set-to-be-renewable-2030
Scotland Got Half Its Electricity From Renewables In 2014
Thanks to a massive investment in onshore and offshore wind.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/06/26/3674316/scotland-gets-half-its-power-from-renewables/
US To Begin Invasion of Syria
US policymakers sign paper calling for the division, destruction, and US occupation of Syria in an incremental invasion.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article42250.htm
For those who love maps
Mapping US Military Installations Around the World
Asia To Surpass North America As Wealthiest Region In 2016
California = Britain? Some US States Have Fiscal Muscle of Entire Countries
Solar Impulse 2 takes off in ‘moment of truth’ for longest solo flight in history
Solar sets off on Pacific crossing from Japan to Hawaii, expected to last five days and nights in most difficult leg yet. It is expected to take five days and nights of continuous flight
Goading Russia:
US Marine unit to be sent to Bulgaria to “reassure allies”:
US to boost its military presence in Central and Eastern Europe:
Pentagon Says It Needs $270 Billion to Upgrade Nuclear Arsenal:
Pentagon Admits 60,000 Black Soldiers Used in Human Experiment:
The US Government used Black soldiers as human guinea pigs in chemical experiments during World War II.
In turf war with Afghan Taliban, IS gains ground: –
IS has seized substantial territory in Afghanistan for the first time.
http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-turf-war-afghan-taliban-islamic-state-loyalists-120338295.html
South Africa’s long walk to decline
The end of apartheid was signalled 25 years ago today – but South Africa’s dreams lie in tatters
Still Cozy After All These Years
Beijing’s support for Pyongyang during the Korean War tells us why it still backs Kim today. http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/06/25/korean-war-anniversary-why-china-supports-pyongyang-north-korea/
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